The Smokehouse at Hueston Woods Lodge

We've been going to this restaurant for years, for dinner, as campers, for holidays. This Thanksgiving was another repeat visit for their buffet. Prices are up to $35 per person, pretty steep, but still worth it for a quality holiday dinner. Unfortunately, this was not a quality dinner. They raised prices, but seem to have sacrificed quality as well.

The salad was good.
The turkey was good.
The cut of beef is cheaper than before, but I cannot speak to the taste. If it's done correctly, it might be ok, but still. The beef slicing station was a sloppy mess, no efforts to keep it tidy by the meat slicing guy. The dish they had the gravy ladel in was sloppy with spilled gravy and a cloth napkin was added to the plate, gunky with gravy and the ladel balanced atop. No supervision?

Mostly, I found most of the sides had a bad taste, perhaps from using a cheap lard or a cleaning solvent that was used to wipe out the stainless casserole dishes, or maybe the stuffing and potatoes (disappointed that they seemed boxed and flavorless) were made in advance and left to absorb bad smells from the fridge overnight. I don't know, but the off-taste was also detected in the green beans, too. This is unacceptable. It's a smell and taste that smells of old lard or rancid cooking oil.

The desserts were also a big downgrade from previous years. Very little selection, no cheesecake, no pecan pie, weird cake roll slices in 2 mystery flavors, and no ice cream either.

After about ten years of coming here, I won't be back for a holiday meal - Ever. I might stop in for a burger sometime. I'm not a meanie!
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Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 3

So I’ve been going back and forth on doing the review.. BUT I feel like it’s good constructive criticism and hopefully going to be a learning lesson for the manager. We were in on Friday for my mom’s birthday, they weren’t doing groups because of construction so we all got separated that’s fine. I had my newborn son with me and he was in his infant car seat and I requested a sling for him to sit in and was told they do not have them and that they use a high chair flipped upside down for car seats it threw me off but it was better than him being on the floor and someone tripping on him. Well the minute he got put into the high chair the whole thing tipped backwards with my baby in it. Yes, my newborn was tipped out backwards of the high chair they gave me to put him in. THANK GOD he was still strapped into his car seat or he would have been seriously hurt. And the server told me that has never happen so clearly she has given the high chair to other parents and there hasn’t been other accidents but this time there was. So while they can afford construction, they should invest in slings for car seats to sit because my son could of seriously been hurt all to saving a few dollars. My heart was in my chest and it looked like it was in the servers chest too. No manager came out to see if he was okay either.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

We made reservation for my Mother-in-law's birthday, because at Christmas time it was so beautiful. This time it was under construction, which they did NOT inform me of when I made reservation. We ordered our drinks which were flat and out of 2 liters and no tea at all. My husband and I ordered the pot roast, baked potato and green beans, which all came out barely Luke warm. The birthday girl ordered pulled pork sandwich, mash potatoes and gravy, which was tasteless and Luke warm. We ask for the manager and she took her time stroll up just to tell us that they were cooking out of a semi and couldn't keep the food warm. She also told us construction would be done in September, that was it for my husband... we walked out. What a terrible experience and horrible birthday! We have decided not to return again. 0 Stars and a grade F.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Probably some of the worst food I’ve had in Oxford. I didn’t like anything we had (pork chop and steak). The servers were fantastic. Nice. On top of things. Full of grumpy old white people if that’s your jam.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 4

Hueston Woods Lodge is a charming retreat nestled within the beautiful Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio.

The food was fantastic, with a great price point. Our server, Alex, was top notch! Had a great anniversary dinner!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

There were empty tables a line of people. No one was acknowledged for over 20 minutes. Not even spoken to. We left. Never had this happen before. Very disappointed.

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

The food was delicious. I ordered the Pulled Pork Brisket Sandwich, and it was huge. The barbecue sauce paired with the sandwich is very good, and I would recommend asking for extra on the side. The fries were crisp and delicious. The pretzels were very soft and paired well with the cheese they were served with.The wait staff were friendly, and the food preparation was timely as well. The murals in the dining area are interesting to look at. I wish that the view to the lake outside of the lodge was less obstructed, though.Overall, it was a great dining experience with great food.

Parking: This restaurant shares parking with the entire lodge. There was plenty of parking available. However, this may change depending on the business of the lodge at other times throughout the year.

Wheelchair accessibility: Elevators are available in the building to cater to those who need wheelchair access.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pull Pork Sandwich Brisket Sandwich, Soft Pretzels

My family came in for the Easter buffet 03/31/2024. The cost was $29 per person and a $15 service fee. Was 5 of us all together with the tip, the total price was $180. The waitress was very good, that's why I gave a tip. The food was absolutely disgusting. We stopped eating when we noticed that the plates were not cleaned, they had dried food on them. The desserts looked like they had been sitting out for a while, the cheese was warm. Save your money. Food was nasty!!!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

The food was delicious (especially their spaghetti and pasta) and the waiters were very friendly. I would recommend going to this place and dine out again. 5/5

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Very friendly staff, everyone we interacted with in the lodge were friendly. Small dining area but was low key and comfortable. Great vibe for the area. I got the chicken tortellini alfredo which was delicious. My noodles seemed slightly overcooked, but the rest of the dish and flavor were great. My friend got the chicken pot pie and said it was very good as well. Likely to return to try different dishes.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

We went in today and invited our grandparents. We had a waitress by the name of Billy and she was terrible. Slammed the plates of food down, slammed down our drinks and spilled coffee and stuff on the table. The food was excellent but service was terrible. She ran off another family, after they came in about 15 minutes after the father and then said we are about to close in 30 minutes not sure if we can service you. The people were already a little bit embarrassed, and then once she got to the back she screamed loud enough to hear from the restaurant and said “ I guess we had 3 more people sit down. They should’ve all came together, this is ridiculous!!” Completely unprofessional, this isn’t the first time we have had her and she wasn’t as bad but not great either but today just topped the cake and I had to get on here and comment.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 1

Food was delicious and service was great.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Big Breakfast, Sausage Gravy and 1 Biscuit

We live nearby & have gone twice in the last few months. The first time was excellent! The food, service & atmosphere were great! We had the pot roast & the Alaskan pollock.Last evening, it was really disappointing. The vegetable soup smelled like V8 juice from across the table. The medium-well steak was bloody. The chicken alfredo had peas! What the heck?! The garlic bread tasted like cooking oil. The rice was bland. The hot fudge cake was horrible...like one of those individual cake mixes from the store. The only good food was the side salad. The server struggled to remember things but was super nice.We're wondering if they have a new chef.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: House Salad

Great thanksgiving buffet

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork, Pumpkin, Mashed Potatoes